Spirited Away. Angela Campbell
No cat. No dogs.
She blinked as she stared toward the door, which was still shut.
“Guys?” she whispered, and glanced around.
Something or someone had just tried to tug the sheets off her – right? She patted the bedding to make certain she was alone. Totally alone.
Hmmm. Dream? That kind of didn’t make sense though. About as much sense as Elton John belting out a song about unicorns and elephants. Then again… She snickered and shook her head.
Sighing, she pushed the hair away from her face and decided she might as well get up. It was almost nine. Time to get up anyway.
She was wiggling her feet out from under the covers when the sheet she still held in her right hand ripped free of her grasp and landed in a heap at the end of the bed. Ripped. Right. Out. Of. Her. Hand.
And then she saw—
Holy crap!
Heartbeat racing to a near explosion, Spider screamed and bolted for the door, throwing it open and darting for the living room. Charlie and Costello started barking and nearly tripped her in the hallway as they ran like maniacs toward the room she’d just deserted. Abbott sprang to his feet and disappeared into one of the rooms in the opposite end of the house.
Spider pounced onto the sofa, grabbed the phone and hugged a pillow to her chest as she stared in the direction from which she’d come.
The dogs were barking like a pack of wild things.
“Be careful!” she called out to them from where she huddled at the edge of the couch.
She punched in 9 and 1 to her phone, then hesitated. Dang it all, what if she was overreacting?
In what seemed like minutes but was probably only seconds, the two dogs quieted to a few huffs and came trotting down the hallway. Costello poked his head around the corner and looked at her as if he was thinking, “Exactly why were you screaming again?” Charlie sprinted toward her, leapt onto the couch, and began slathering her face with yucky dog kisses.
The pillow made a great shield against yucky dog kisses. “Was someone in there or what?”
Probably not, since no one had tried to kill her yet.
Costello jumped on the couch beside Charlie and panted hot, stinky breath in her face in reply. She pushed his nuzzle away.
Oh yeah. She was so not a dog person.
“You’re right.” She petted both dogs as she glanced wide-eyed down the hallway. Had she seen what she’d thought she’d seen? “I was probably dreaming or something.”
Probably.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
She squealed and both dogs went berserk, jumping off the couch and charging towards the source of the noise – the front door. Her rib-cage almost broke from how hard her heart slammed against it. Heaven help her, she was going to have a heart attack before this day was finished. Hand to her chest, she followed the animals, nudging them aside so she could see who on earth had just bypassed the doorbell and banged on the door so darn early … and with such force. Was it The Hulk? Sheesh.
No, not the Hulk.
Hello! Hottie neighbour alert.
After hurriedly punching in the alarm’s deactivation code, she jerked open the door and flung herself at Noah. “Thank goodness you’re here!”
Charlie whizzed past, but Noah reached down with one hand, grabbed his collar and pushed him back into the house before he could get far. She seriously needed to remember that dog did that. Realizing her arms were still twined around the man’s waist, she pulled back.
“I would have come sooner if I’d known I’d get that kind of a greeting.” Bent over now, Noah scratched the dog behind his ears and didn’t seem to mind in the least when Charlie slipped him some tongue.
Eww. Just eww.
“Would you please come in and check the bedroom for me?” She nudged Costello back with her foot and gestured down the hall. “I think someone might be in there.”
“What?” Noah straightened and stepped inside, pushing the door shut behind him. “Where?”
She led him part of the way and then pointed out the room. “There.”
“Stay here.” He disappeared through the doorway, both dogs trotting after him. He finally reappeared, hands held out. “I don’t see anyone.” He checked the other rooms before declaring, “Nope. I don’t see anyone else in the house.”
She released her breath in a rush.
He stopped a few feet away from her, so close the scent of soap teased her nostrils. “What happened?”
With Noah so close, she was aware of how her nightshirt clung to her free breasts and even more aware she’d been having an inappropriate dream about him less than fifteen minutes ago. She crossed her arms, not that he hadn’t already seen her in her pajamas, and shrugged. “I thought someone pulled the sheet off me while I was sleeping. I guess I was dreaming.”
“Maybe.” His forehead creased as he glanced back toward the bedroom. “It could have been one of the pets.”
“No. They were shut out of the room.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I’m sorry. Did you need something?”
His gaze fell to her chest before flicking back up to meet hers. Heat engulfed her face. Her tank top’s statement “Gamers do it all night” probably seemed a little provocative. Yeah. She really should go put on some more clothes.
“I wanted to ask you about the woman you saw in my house last night.”
“Oh.” She lifted a hand and played with the end of her hair. “What about her?”
“Did you get a good look at her?”
“Why?” She smiled. Was he harboring a criminal or something? Trying to decide whether Spider had seen too much?
Her smile slid off her face. Or he could be one of those crazy men who kidnapped women and kept them chained in the attic. She took a step back.
“This is going to sound strange, but there shouldn’t have been anyone in my house last night. Are you sure you saw someone?” He watched her carefully, drawing her attention to the vibrant green of his eyes, shadowed by dark lines underneath. Even darker hair fell in shaggy waves that framed his face. He had that McDreamy Patrick Dempsey haircut going on. Stubble highlighted a strong jawline and luscious mouth.
He looked hot, but edgy. Kind of dangerous.
Serial killer dangerous? The way her luck was going, probably.
“I could have been mistaken.” But she wasn’t. She remembered everything about the woman she’d seen. Young – college age, probably. Long, dark hair and a pretty face. She’d been wearing a jean jacket over a white shirt. Something Spider wished she was wearing right about now. “Um, do you mind if I go throw some clothes on?”
“Go ahead.”
She glanced at the dogs and wondered how exactly her boss Zach communicated with them – apparently he could, being a pet psychic and all. Costello lifted his beady little eyes towards her, and she tried sending him the thought: Attack him if he follows me. Good boy.
Costello opened his mouth and grinned.
She held up her finger and managed a smile for their guest. “Give me one minute.”
Hurrying into the guest room, she shut the door behind her. Abbott was sprawled on the bed. Wait – she could have sworn the cat had disappeared into the office on the other side of the house.
“How did you get in here?” She shook her head. “Never mind. Safety in numbers. Don’t move.”